This invention relates to vacuum metallized paper or plastic films which have a wide range of uses in packaging and other industries. The existing technology for creating the desired patterns on metallized films is limited in that the desired pattern cannot be directly printed on the film in the vacuum metallizing process. Instead, the current technology requires the printing of a pattern of etchant-resistant material on a continuously moving web of metallized film substrate; applying an etchant over the etchant-resistant material, (usually by applying a 5% to 10% by weight of a NaOH solution); allowing the etchant solution to remain in contact with the metallized film substrate as it is continuously moved to permit the etchant solution to dissolve predetermined metallized areas of the metallized film substrate not having a pattern of etchant-resistant material applied thereto; washing the etchant solution from the metallized film substrate to leave the pattern of etchant-resistant material on desired predetermined areas of the web; and thereafter drying the resulting washed web of metallized film substrate, to provide the desired pattern.
Examples of this current technology, as described above, are shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,398,994; 4,517,045; and 4,552,614. Other patents relating to multi-layering of metal patterns upon film substrates include the following U.S. Pat. Nos.: 4,242,378; 4,532,002; 4,448,636; 3,935,334; 3,985,597; 3,647,508; 2,748,031; and 2,139,640.
Because of the various steps and procedures involved in the above described process, it will be apparent that it is a relatively slow, complicated and expensive process. Quite obviously, there are many inherent limitations and restrictions in this current process involving metallized film which are attributable primarily to the wet system that is employed to remove metallized areas from the metallized film substrate.